Cowessess First Nation working with Church to complete identification of 751 unmarked graves

Since the discovery of 751 unmarked graves at a former residential school site in June, members of Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan have been committed to the painful work of identifying each victim.

So far, 300 have been identified near the grounds of the former Marieval Indian Residential School.

"[It's a] validation of the pain, frustration, the anger, the tiredness of remaining Indigenous in a country that still tries to oppress," Cowessess Chief Cadmus Delorme told INTV.

In partnership with the Roman Catholic Church, a Cowessess research team is currently in Saint Boniface, Man. where most of the Marieval school records are being kept, attempting to piece together a timeline of students and staff who entered the institution and when they left.

"Ultimately the names to get to the unmarked graves is the end goal," Delorme said.

The archdiocese of Regina says it, too, is working closely with Cowessess.

"[We are giving] everything we have that provides a nice framework that we can work with the archival team at Cowessess in contributing every piece of information that would help fill in the blanks," archbishop Donald Bolen told CTV National News.

In addition to identifying those lost, Cowessess says it's looking into criminal charges for the removal of the headstones, as well as possible charges against those who allegedly abused students.

One Marieval survivor, Debbie Delorme, says she's relieved to see the work being done is finally happening.

"[I'm] very proud of all our people that are speaking out and helping the truth to come out," she told CTV National News.

Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the Assembly of First Nations that the government will continue to support them.

"That's why we're appointing a special interlocutor to further advance justice on residential schools while ensuring that communities undertaking burial searches have what they need," he said.

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate say work is underway to expedite access to critical residential school records. The oblates operated 48 schools across Canada, including the ones in Cowessess and Kamloops.